The Amazing Race’s Hayden Kristianson and Aaron Crumbaugh were thrilled to learn from an ultrasound that they were going to have a girl when Hayden was 20 weeks pregnant. But their excitement turned to fear when the test also revealed that their daughter had a dangerous birth defect. “I cried for three weeks straight,” Hayden tells In Touch, as she and Aaron open up about a parent’s worst nightmare. Doctors diagnosed the baby with gastroschisis — a potentially deadly birth defect that affects one in 5,000 babies. “Her abdomen had an opening in it which caused some of her intestines to remain outside of her body,” explains Hayden. “It was very scary.”

As soon as Kaiya Rachel was born on December 7, she was whisked away to a stabilization room where a neonatologist was waiting. “Aaron and I didn’t even get to see her,” says Hayden about their 6-pound, 5-ounce bundle of joy. “But as soon as we heard her little cry, we knew she was going to be okay.” But Hayden still had to wait three more days to meet her daughter. “She needed to be transported to Children’s Memorial Hospital,” says Hayden. “Kaiya had about two feet of intestines and a little bit of her colon outside of her body,” adds model/chef Aaron.

Twenty-four days later — on New Year’s Eve — their baby girl was finally released from the hospital. “I can’t even begin to describe the joy we felt bringing her home. We realize how blessed we are,” says Hayden. “

Hayden and Aaron competed on The Amazing Race, season 6, finishing in 4th place. Immediately following their elimination in Xi'an, China, Aaron proposed to Hayden on the Mat at the Great Wall of China in front of Phil Keoghan and all of the show fans watching. They were married on April 21, 2007 in Spokane, WA. Aaron has been working as a chef in Chicago. ---peach

"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens."Phil Keoghan

Congratulations to Hayden and Aaron on the birth of their baby girl Kaiya!

Sending them Love and Best Wishes as they start their journey together!

And prayers for her continued recovery...

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"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens."Phil Keoghan

I actually liked them a lot during the race. I found their bickering to be funny most of the time. One of my favorite memories of them was during the recap episode where Aaron was pushing their stalled car towards an exit or something to meet someone, while Hayden protested and grabbed onto the car trying to stop him from pushing it any further. Good times, haha.

Apparently the Food Network liked Aaron's two appearances on Cutthroat Kitchen (he won one of them). They invited him to audition for the the 12th season of The Next Food Network Star and he was selected to be one of the contestants. The winner is supposed to get their own show on the Food Network, but that hasn't always happened. Apparently it depends on how thrilled they are with the winner. I believe there are other prizes, but I can't find that information on the show's web page.

They have already aired the first episode and Aaron survived, though he was in the bottom and was up for elimination. He apparently didn't salt him food enough, but they eliminated another contestant that burned his dish. I watched the last half of it and never realized that I had seen Aaron before. Here's an excerpt from a critique of the episode on the Food Network website:

Aaron Crumbaugh:

A chipper former model and family man is our future "meat man" for Food Network? While Aaron's coffee-rubbed steak with chimichurri was a great idea, the judges found it lacked salt. Do you see Bobby’s face when someone forgets to salt food? This self-described "farm boy ... chef ... stay-at-home dad" (whaaat?) needs to reel it in and put it all out there if he wants to cook bison steak for America.

Good on Hayden & Aaron, I read that they had a daughter but didn't realise of her condition until reading this post. They were a great team full of memorability, such as their first place wins in Iceland and Sweden, their bickering of course, their love for each other and determination to succeed and ultimately their elimination in X'ian promoting Aaron to propose to her. They were one of the best teams that season, and wanted them for an All-Stars edition. The other teams I loved were Lena & Kristy, Don & Mary Jean, Gus & Hera, Jonathan & Victoria (yes you heard me), Lori & Bolo and Adam & Rebecca. Kris & Jon are an honorable mention.